A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wheel balancing devices, and, more particularly to adhesive wheel balancing weights having a serrated backing strip.
B. Description of the Related Art
A number of wheel weight attachment systems have been proposed and used to improve the balance of a rotating wheel having a conventional pneumatic tire mounted thereon. Thus, it is known to apply a counterbalancing weight to a rim of the wheel to compensate for the rotational imbalance of the pneumatic tire and rim assembly.
Conventional counterbalancing weights include lead weights molded around a steel clip, which in turn is attached to a flange of the rim. Such a circumferentially extending weight is selectively placed on the rim at a location generally corresponding to the radial location indicated by the tire balancer. Such clip weights, as they are known, however, result in the contact of two dissimilar metals (that is the steel clip and the rim). In severe winter and salt driving conditions, which form electrolytes, the potential for corrosion exists due to the contact of these dissimilar metals. Clip weights can also potentially damage wheels by inflicting scratches thereon. Such scratches may become noticeable upon removal or relocation of the wheel weight.
Another method of attaching one or more lead weights to a rim is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,409, which discloses a plurality of preformed weights secured upon an elongate tape having an adhesive backing to attach the weights to the rim. A backing strip is removably attached to the adhesive backing of the tape to protect the tape. This backing strip must be removed prior to installation of the lead weights onto the rim. However, it is difficult to remove the backing strip from the tape because the surface area of the backing strip is coextensive with the surface area of the tape, thereby making it extremely difficult to initially separate the backing strip from the tape. A solution to this problem is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,421, which discloses a backing strip having a width greater than the width of the tape to facilitate removing the backing strip from the tape prior to installation of the wheel weights onto the rim.
A further problem with the backing strip, not addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,421, is that a plurality of wheel balancing weights (each weight conventionally weighing 0.25 ounces, or any other weight value) are typically provided in end-to-end relationship upon the elongate strip of tape. However, when balancing a tire, only one or a few wheel balancing weights are needed at a particular radial location of the rim, and the elongate strip of tape typically has at least twelve of such wheel balancing weights. Thus, the backing strip, adhesive tape, and lead weights need to be severed, either by manually bending or breaking the combination at a desired location, or by mechanically severing the combination, such as with a knife, a pair of metal snips, or other cutting tool. The separation of the individual weights becomes a cumbersome and time consuming exercise. Furthermore, some backing strips are made from a vinyl film that is impossible to manually tear, necessitating a knife or a pair of metal snips to cut the vinyl backing strip. Thus, a cutting tool and a cutting step are mandatory for wheel balancing weights having vinyl backing strips.
Conventional wheel balancing device arrangements also promote waste. If the backing strip is peeled away from underneath the individual weights that are to be separated, but also underneath weights that are not to be separated, the adhesive under the non-separated weights will be exposed to grease, dirt, and other debris commonly found on the hands of the applicator and in the storage facility or garage. If the adhesive becomes contaminated with such grease, dirt, or debris, it will not adhere to the rim properly, and the non-separated weights will need to be discarded.
Thus, there is a need in the art for adhesive wheel balancing weights that eliminate waste caused by contaminated adhesive, enables individual weights to be separated quickly and easily, without a cutting tool, and permits the backing strip to be quickly and easily removed from the adhesive tape.